Masks back in US over variant fears

Washington, July 29: A little more than two months ago, a beaming President Biden stepped into the Rose Garden to announce that vaccinated Americans no longer needed to wear masks indoors. So much progress had been made against the Coronavirus, now they could go back to “greeting others with a smile.”

But anyone smiling inside the White House on Wednesday was supposed to do it once again from behind a mask.

The requirement was back after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said new research showed even vaccinated people could transmit, in rare cases, the more contagious Delta variant.

Reporters and photographers wore masks. Members of the press office wore masks. Biden did too — he was photographed with a mask while talking with an opposition leader from Belarus before leaving for a trip to Pennsylvania.

Vice President Kamala Harris got a head start the day before, wearing a mask during a meeting with Native American leaders. An aide passed out masks to any journalists who had already fallen out of the habit of keeping one handy.

Unlike when Donald Trump was president, and his administration disregarded public health guidelines, this White House has been a barometer for how federal officials say Americans should protect themselves from the Coronavirus.

Now it’s a high-profile showcase for the country’s faltering efforts to end the pandemic as the Delta variant tears through unvaccinated communities, and infections approach levels last seen this spring, before shots were widely available. —